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Visually impaired skiers put fate in guide's hands

WHISTLER, B.C.–As part of a class assignment in Grade 10, ski racer Nick Brush wrote out a five-year plan which culminated in competing at the Winter Games.

Even though he was an elite skier at the time, it was really nothing more than a joke.

But Saturday, just weeks short of that five-year deadline, the 21-year-old was set to descend the slopes at the Paralympic Winter Games, guiding visually impaired competitor Chris Williamson of Markham in a downhill race they have a legitimate shot to win.

"I'm super excited to be going to the Games and competing for my country," says Brush, a native of the resort town of Panorama, B.C.

"I just never thought it would happen, or even could happen this way."

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Ski racing is typically a solitary pursuit – you versus the course. But when it involves blind competitors, who travel at speeds of up to 120 km/h on a downhill course, it becomes a team game, where communication is vital and trust a necessity.

They are linked by two-way radios. The guide, sometimes just a few metres ahead, calls out changes in terrain and snow conditions, as the competitor acknowledges the passage of gates and dictates whether the pair go faster or slow down.

"In a lot of ways, it's like a relationship with a girl," explained Brush, who first teamed with Williamson in 2008 after a former coach contacted him about it. "You have to trust each other. You have to communicate with each other. You have to work well together."

Guides are such an integral part of visually impaired skiing, dual medals are awarded.

"It's easily the most difficult job in skiing," said Williamson, a 37-year-old bank teller and married father of two who won gold, silver and bronze at the past two Paralympic Games.

Likening a guide to "the carrot in front of the horse," Williamson said the guide must make sure neither skier falls, gauge terrain and relay information in a split second.

He also said Brush has to constantly be looking back to ensure the competitor stays on course while skiing a clean race.

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"Nick has got so many things to think about while travelling down the hill at 100-plus kilometres an hour," said Williamson, who has a form of macular degeneration caused by toxoplasmosis that reduces his vision to about 6 per cent. He can see Brush on the hill and most gates as he approaches them, but is blind to bumps and other terrain changes.

"His job is to get me down the hill as fast as he can," Williamson said of Brush, who is his 16th guide in 12 years with the national team.

The pair have been faster than most this year, winning seven of 12 races on the International Paralympic Committee World Cup circuit and finishing second three times.

Viviane Forest and guide Lindsay Debou have also enjoyed a great season, their first full one together. They won four races, including three straight slalom events in January, and made the podium in all 11 starts they made on the IPC World Cup circuit.

They are also top medal contenders in Saturday's women's downhill race.

Forest, a 30-year-old Quebec native now living in Edmonton, has just 4 per cent vision from albinism and retinal pigmentosa, which reduce her sight to a series of blurry shapes.

That means she relies on Debou even more than Williamson needs direction from Brush.

"Pretty much everything I see, I tell her," said Debou, a 26-year-old from Whistler, who, like Brush, had a competitive ski-racing background before becoming a guide two years ago.

"If I'm silent, then she gets scared and doesn't know where to go.

"It's really important that I'm constantly talking and aware of our surroundings and the fact that I'm not alone, I've got someone behind me and depending on me."

"The way I look at it, we really need each other," said Forest. "Without me, she wouldn't be skiing at the Olympics and without her, I wouldn't make it to the finish line."

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